SOS: Save Our Summer
by Kiaran Dryaalis
Summary: Summer school at Kaigen Academy. Students and teacher alike hate it. [AkuRoku, Zemyx, and RikuSora]
1. Chapter One

_**Author's Note: **Mostly inspired by my own insanity. This will mainly focus on Riku/Sora, Axel/Roxas, and Zexion/Demyx, but there's going to be some straight pairings, too. I've basically thrown the KH2 cast (and a couple added Final Fantasy characters) into a school during the summer quarter. This isn't one of my more serious fics, so. . .yeah, whatever.  
**Warnings: **AU, some OOCness, a lot of age tweaking, introduction of several Final Fantasy character not originally in Kingdom Hearts, several pairings, some OCs to fill the classes (you are welcome to submit a character if you like), a lot of character harassment, fluff, much rape-age of the canon (hey, it's an AU, what do you expect?), several perverted comments, innuendo, we'll eventually see some molestation, and maybe some almost smut on a school desk with Zexion and Demyx. I think that covers it all.  
**Disclaimer:** Tetsuya Nomura hides the yaoi under his bed; I'm just bringing it out._

Chapter One

If there was one thing Axel hated more than school, it was summer school. Or, to be specific, he hated attending summer school, sitting in a hot classroom on a ninety-seven degree day with no air-conditioning, being forced to wear long polyester pants as part of the mandatory uniform at Kaigen Academy. The one good thing about the summer uniform was the short sleeved white cotton shirt. Axel's shirt was unbuttoned, revealing the white undershirt he had on beneath it. It made him at least somewhat cool in the unbelievably boiling classroom.

Also, the sly glances from the tanned girl with the deep blue hair next to him that distinctly said "I am so plotting against you" were really beginning to unnerve him. There was seriously something wrong with the broad. The girl looked up at him and flashed him an all-too evil grin. Axel shuddered in his seat, despite the extreme temperature.

"Axel!" the teacher exclaimed. "Pay attention!"

Axel jumped slightly and looked up at his teacher. Xigbar, with his scars and eyepatch, seemed quite the formidable teacher, but was actually one of the most boring teachers at Kaigen Academy. His history lectures never seemed to end, even after the class was over with. The one thing about the teacher that was entertaining in the tiniest bit, though it was also rather disturbing, was that he would often sit at his desk looking over the lesson or papers and randomly take a sip from a coffee cup that every student knew was empty.

Once making sure that all of his students were paying attention, or at least jotting down notes on the War of Aurora in 1967, Xigbar turned around and continued writing out key points of the war on the chalk board. Axel yawned and snuck a look at what Kiaran was doing. The blue-haired girl's notebook page was filled with a bunch of scrambled up names. It looked as though she was figuring out anagrams of everyone's names. He noticed at the top, she had begun with Xigbar, getting Gabrix, Abgrix, and Rixbag before finally coming to the conclusion that the perfect anagram of the teacher's name was "Bigrax." Axel snickered.

"Axel!" Xigbar shouted. "If I have to tell you again, it's detention after school."

The red-head's eyes narrowed slightly, but he turned back to the chalkboard. Once Xigbar turned away again, he flipped the man off behind his back. He heard Kairi, behind him, tsk at him disapprovingly. He ignored her; he always ignored the teacher's pet. Giving a bored sigh, Axel picked up his pencil and began doodling absently in his notebook. A lot of the other students were doing the same thing. He knew that a handful of students were texting each other on their cellphones. Only Olette, Kairi, Hana, Riku, Selphie, and the newbie, Roxas, were actually paying attention to Xigbar's lecture.

Axel glanced over to Roxas. The blond had been here for only a few weeks. He and his twin sister, Naminé, had come to the school in the middle of the spring term, after coming to the islands to live with their cousin, Sora. The two of them, Sora and Roxas, looked rather similar when it came to facial features. Both had astonishing blue eyes and soft, round faces. The major differences between them were that Roxas was a bit taller and blond whereas Sora was a brunet. Also, Roxas seemed to be a lot quieter than Sora and far less hyper.

A tap on his right shoulder grabbed Axel's attention. He looked to his right and asked in a whisper what Hayner wanted. The blond boy passed him folded piece of paper and told him to pass it on to Kiaran. Axel nodded. He hid the paper in his lap as Xigbar turned around to explain the kind of weapons used in the War of Aurora. After a few minutes, the teacher turned back to the board and Axel silently set the paper on the blue-haired girl's desk next to him.

"You shouldn't be passing notes," Kairi whispered behind him.

"Bite me," Axel replied.

Axel could feel Kairi's blue eyes glaring at the back of his head. He brushed it off and continued doodling. He heard Kiaran unfold the paper that Hayner had asked him to pass to her and snicker quietly. She tapped the paper against Axel's arm and showed it to him. It was a drawing of Sora and Riku kissing with Kairi in the background. A speech bubble next to Kairi stated "ZOMG, Sora is, liek, so not gay!"

"Professor!" Kairi called, raising her hand. "Kiaran and Axel are passing notes!"

Xigbar turned around to look at the aforementioned students. Right as he did so, Kiaran held up her notebook, open to a page on which she had written "Xigbar equals Bigrax!" with a large black Sharpie. The teacher stared and sputtered at the notebook. Several pairs of eyes followed his gaze and saw the paper. After a couple moments of absolute silence, the classroom erupted into laughter.

"Ki-Kiaran!" Xigbar exclaimed, face red with anger. "Dete--"

Xigbar was cut off by the shrill sound of the bell ringing. Before he could punish the blue-haired girl with detention, she was out the door, heading towards the vending machine to get a drink before her next class. Kairi, along with the other juniors, remained in her seat, watching the older girl bounce off with a look of distaste on her face.

"I can see why she got kicked out of her old school," she muttered.

Annwn, a senior with pale blue hair who took the junior/senior history class, picked up her backpack with smile. "Oh, that's not why she got kicked out."

"Yeah," Annwn's friend, Hana said, stepping next to Annwn. "That's not the reason at all."

"Then, what reason was it?" Felix, a junior who sat behind Kairi, asked. "And how do you know?"

Hana and Annwn exchanged grins.

"She got caught in a threesome in the girl's locker room," Annwn said.

"And we know," Hana smiled. "Because we were the other two in the ménage-a-trois."

Kairi choked and looked away from the two seniors in embarrassment. Felix gave an amused little grin. Tidus, who sat next to Felix during History and switched to the next class with the other seniors, overheard the reason Annwn and Hana gave, looked at the two girls with interest.

"Hey," he said. "Next time, give me a call and I'll join in?"

Annwn gave him a kind smile. "We'd love to, darling. Unfortunately, you've got the wrong equipment."

Kairi choked again and turned bright scarlet. Axel, who was still putting his things in his backpack, burst into laughter. Tidus pouted, but laughed it off. He smiled at the girls.

"You know what?" he smirked. "You two are all right."

"You'd better get to class," Naminé said, walking up to Annwn and Hana. She smiled softly at them. "Excuse me."

Annwn and Hana moved to let the younger girl brush past them to her desk. Then, the two of them left the classroom, heading for the Sex Ed class they were signed up to take on Monday and Wednesday. It was the only class they really needed to take to graduate from high school. The credit system at Kaigen Academy was really messed up compared to the one at the high school they had attended on the mainland.

Axel came up behind the two girls. He tapped Hana on the shoulder to get the girl's attention.

"Was that true?" he asked. "About Kiaran?"

"What about me?" Kiaran asked, popping up out of nowhere with a bottle of paopu soda in hand.

"Did you really get kicked out of your old school for getting caught having a threesome with these two in the girl's locker room?"

Kiaran frowned at Annwn and Hana. "You guys really should stop telling lies."

"So, you weren't in a threesome with them?" Axel asked.

"Oh, I was," Kiaran said, grinning maniacally. "But we weren't in the locker room."

Axel questioned as to why he had even asked in the first place. Kiaran, Annwn, and Hana exchanged grins and burst into laughter. Axel sped up a bit to get away from the girls, telling himself to never ask them anything again.

"By the way," Annwn asked, calming down. "Where's room 203, anyways?"

"It's this way, I think," Hana replied, pointing down a corridor.

"I thought it was this way," Kiaran said, pointing to a different corridor.

"But the map says it's this way…"

"Hana, darling, maps are made to fuck you over," Annwn told her friend.

"But I asked that silver-haired kid for directions," Hana said. "He said it was this way."

Axel came to a halt and gave an exasperated sigh. _Women._

"It's this way," he told them, pointing in the correct direction.

"Told you," Hana said.

"You're going to get it tonight if you don't keep in line, Calico," Kiaran said.

Hana giggled nervously at the use of her nickname, then followed Axel to the class. Kiaran and Annwn followed as well, smirking in unison at their friend. Kiaran opened the bottle of juice and took a swig. She choked, coughed and spit out the juice in a nearby water fountain. A look of disgust crossed her face.

"Never try the paopu soda," she said. "It's absolutely disgusting."

"You're just not used to it," a boy said, walking next to her. His silver hair hung loose over his shoulders, bangs almost covering his eyes.

"So, it's an acquired taste?" Annwn asked.

"So to speak," the boy grinned.

"I miss dragon fruit drinks," Kiaran pouted.

The boy laughed. "So, where are you headed?"

"Room 203 for Sex Ed," Annwn told him as Kiaran shrugged off the taste of the drink and chugged it down. "What about you?'

"Same," the boy replied. "It's a new teacher this year, so I guess we'll be in for a surprise."

"Perhaps for you," the pale haired girl said. "For us, every teacher's a new victim."

The boy raised a thin, silver eyebrow. "New here, then?"

"Completely."

"Then welcome to Kaigen Academy," the boy smiled. "Miss…?"

"Annwn," she replied, pulling back a strand of her light-blue hair. "And this is Kiaran. The girl with the red dye-job is Hana."

"She's mine, hands off," Kiaran snarled.

"She's safe from me, don't worry," the boy laughed. "I'm Riku, by the way."

"Nice to meet you," Annwn said.

"Ditto," Kiaran mumbled, drinking down the last of the soda.

"You really shouldn't chug that," Riku told her. "It's actually very caffeinated."

"Oh, don't worry about that," Annwn said. "She'll work off the high somehow."

"Hey, look," Kiaran giggled. "My hand's shaking already."

Sure enough, the girl's hand was trembling. The trembling got steadily worse as they walked down the hall to the classroom. By the time they actually got to the classroom, Kiaran's hand was shaking visibly from a distance and she was stuttering. The teacher, upon their arrival, raised a slender eyebrow at Kiaran, who laughed maniacally before finding a seat in the corner, behind Hana. The bell rang shortly after that and the teacher stood to take roll.

"Okay," the teacher said, standing up and pulling a strand of his hair back. "I'm Leon and I'll be teaching Sex Ed in place of your last teacher, who's on maternity leave this quarter." He paused as a snicker ran through the class. He cleared his throat. "When I call your name, answer with 'here.' Not 'yo,' 'wazzup' or any of that other shit. You're seniors in high school; act like it."

He ran through the class list, starting with Annwn and ending with Zexion. Only a handful of students were missing out of all of them. Leon checked off all the attending students, then grabbed a piece of chalk and began writing on the blackboard.

"Take out a piece of paper and pencil," he said. "Today's assignment is an easy one, so I expect everyone to do it and have it done before class is over. I want all of you to write a paragraph on what you know and what you think you need to learn from this class; nothing stupid like asking what the best position during sex is. That's not why you're here."

He wrote a few guidelines on the chalkboard. "Everyone get to work. Remember, this is what you know and you want to learn, not what your neighbor knows and wants. Every paper should be different."

One of the girls in the second row raised her hand. Leon looked at her, then to the seating chart he had thrown together as he took roll.

"Question, Yuffie?"

"I suspect you want us to paraphrase the things we know, instead of just writing out exactly what we already know?" the girl asked.

"That would be the easiest way for all of us, yes," Leon replied.

The girl nodded and began to write. Several of the other students were already writing; though many had to think a moment about what it was they already knew. Apparently a handful of students hadn't been paying much attention in the previous Sex Ed classes they had taken, seeing as it only took them a few minutes to finish the assignment and bring it up to the teacher. Several, on the other hand, took a bit longer.

"When you've finished the assignment," Leon said, as more and more papers were handed in. "I want you to open your books to page twenty-three and start reading about STDs until the bell rings."

Axel turned his paper in with a sigh. He was one of the few students who had never really paid much attention in class before, having actually skipped a few classes to hang out with Demyx in the park not far from the school. He wasn't really interested in learning about the consequences of sex. He was careful; he always made sure his partners were clean before having sex with them. And there wasn't much possibility of him getting anyone pregnant. He wasn't interest in women that way.

"Miss Kiaran, care to explain to me why it took you four pages to write two sentences?" he heard the teacher ask as he walked back to his seat.

It was the strangest class Axel had ever taken.

* * *

"So, how was the first day of the quarter?" Demyx asked. 

"You would know if you hadn't skipped," Axel muttered, staring at the water from his spot on the ferry.

"Oh, come on, Axel!" the blond musician whined. "School's boring! And you're not top of the class, either, you know!"

"Please," the red-head rolled his eyes. "At least I _go_ to school."

"Hey, I go to school," Demyx said, defensively. "Sometimes."

"Yeah, once a month."

"I go more than that," Demyx pouted.

"Whatever. . ."

Demyx crossed his arms over his chest in a huff. "You're mean, Axy."

Axel twitched and glared at his friend. "Don't call me that anymore."

There were a few moments of silence between the two friends. This was how they were. They had always had this kind of friendship; they got along at points and at other were on the verge of fighting. Even when they had been dating, they had been like this, albeit without the whole 'verge-of-fighting' thing.  
"Hey, Axel?"

"What?" Axel asked, still staring at the water.

"Why did you break it off between us again?"

"You still hung up about that?" Axel turned to looked at Demyx. "It's been two weeks."

"Yeah," Demyx said. "But, it was so sudden and you never did give me a real reason."

Axel shook his head. "Dem, I'm sorry. We're great friends, but if we were more than that, it just doesn't work. Think of it this way; I'm a pyromaniac and you're a hydromaniac. Fire and water just don't mix. Got it memorized?"

"Yeah, okay," Demyx said, leaning against the railing and looking down at the water. Then he flashed Axel a grin. "But the combo sure makes for a steamy night."

Axel grinned back. "Right."

"Sure we can't get back together?"

The red-head thought about it for a few minutes. "Yeah. Sorry, but it just doesn't work."

"Okay," Demyx said. "Just thought I'd make sure before asking Zexion out."

"You're going to ask Zexion out?"

"Yeah, why not?" the blond asked. "He's hot, he's bi, and he's not dating anyone right now."

"He's also damned anti-social," Axel pointed out.

Demyx shrugged. "So what?"

Axel shook his head, perplexed. "Sometimes, I just don't get you."

"Likewise."

Axel sighed and returned his gaze to the waters below. He glanced at his watch, bored as all hell. There was still another twenty minutes before the ferry reached the main island, where several students at Kaigen Academy lived. Though the academy was on one of the smaller islands in the group that made up the Destiny Islands, only about half the student population actually lived on the same island. The rest all lived on the main island, Kalohi. One reason might be because Kalohi was where everything really was.

Clubs, malls, fancy restaurants, and the university were all on Kalohi, along with multiple apartment complexes, large businesses, and the main harbor with ships to the mainland. It was often referred to as the tourist island because of all the going-ons. Those used to city life preferred to live on Kalohi, rather than the more backwater smaller islands, Kilohana and Lanai. Where the smaller islands had dirt roads, quaint houses, and the occasional market, Kalohi was all concrete roads, highways, and condominiums.

"So," Demyx said, breaking the silence. "I've got a gig at the Blue Rhapsody this weekend. If you'd like, you can come."

"Usual time?" Axel asked. "Eight o'clock on Saturday, right?"

"Yeah."

"I'll be there," Axel said. "But you can't get upset if I don't give you sex for a job well done."

Demyx gave a playful pout. "You're not going to?"

"I might forget."

Silence came over the two of them again. A few moments passed. Demyx turned around and leaned backwards on the railing, waiting impatiently for the ferry to reach Kalohi. He noticed a blonde young girl come up to them. The girl smiled politely at Demyx, then gently tapped Axel's shoulder. The red-head turned around with a questioning look on his face. The girl gave another polite smile.

"Excuse me," she apologized. "You're in Xigbar's history class with my brother, aren't you?"

"Maybe," Axel replied. "Your brother have a name?"

"Roxas," the girl said. "He sits towards the front of the class."

"Oh, him. You must be Naminé, then, right?"

"That's right."

"Yeah, I'm in class with him," Axel said. "Why?"

"Well, neither of us caught what tonight's homework is," Naminé replied. "I couldn't remember anyone else in the class, but recognized you, so I thought I'd ask you if you knew what the homework was."

"There wasn't any homework in history," the red-head told her. "At least, not that I know of. He was too busy with another student to tell us about any homework."

"Oh," Naminé said. She bowed politely. "Well, thank you."

Axel waved it off. "No problem."

The blonde smiled politely and walked away. Axel's gaze followed her to where she joined her brother at a table. The other twin was reading a book, but looked up as his sister sat down with him. Axel watched as Naminé explained to Roxas that there wasn't any homework for history and saw Roxas nod, then return to his book. It occurred to him then that he had never actually heard Roxas say anything. Even during classes, he had never heard Roxas' voice.

_Wonder what the problem is,_ he thought.

Axel shook off the thought. Why did he care whether or not Roxas spoke? It wasn't important to him. It was just a thought that passed momentarily in his mind. Besides, it wasn't as if Roxas was that interesting of a person. Aside from being new in town, there wasn't much else about him. So, why did he care? And why was he still having this conversation with himself?

He turned back to Demyx. "So, tell me. Got any new songs you'll be performing this weekend?"

"A couple," Demyx said. "I've got this new rendition of _Livin' in Sin_ that I want to try out on the crowd. And here, tell me what you think of this one." The mohawked boy cleared his throat. "_Stripped of life alone, in the midst of something that I want, to play with your evil inside. . ."_

"Woah, woah, stop, Dem," Axel interrupted. "Those are lyrics from _Awaken_, by Disturbed."

Demyx paused and thought about it. "Ah. I thought they sounded familiar. . ."

Axel's palm met his forehead in a slap.

"So, I'll just scratch that from the list," Demyx mumbled. "Maybe I should go through the rest of my songs and make sure I don't make that mistake again."

"You do that," Axel said, looking again over at the table where Naminé and Roxas sat.

Demyx followed the red-head's gaze. "You think the new kid's hot, don't you?"

Axel looked at his friend in shock. "That scrawny guy? No way!"

A sly grin spread across Demyx's lips. "You do!"

"I do not!"

"I see that look in your eyes!" Demyx's voice took on a sing-song tone. "You like the new kid!"

"Demyx, if you don't knock that off, I'll hit you."

"Why deny it?" the mohawked teen asked, reaching up to play with one of the studs in his left ear. "I know you, Ax. Whenever you like someone, you get that weird look in your eyes."

"I'll give you weird eyes," Axel growled.

Demyx ignored him. "Axel likes the new kid! Axel likes the new kid! Axel likes—ow!"

Axel's fingers gripped the musician's hair tightly. "I don't like the new kid. Knock it off."

"Ow! Fine, Fine! Leggo!"

Axel released Demyx from his grip and turned back to face the ocean. He glanced to the west and saw that the ferry has just about reached the docks. He picked up his bag from the floor and swung it over his shoulder, waiting for the ferry to dock so he could get off. Right now, all he wanted was to get home and take a nap. He looked over to see Kairi standing near him with her back turned to him.

"Hey, Kairi," he said.

"What?" the girl asked, turning to face him.

"Your skirt's tucked into your panties," Axel told her. "Funny, I didn't take you for someone to like Hello Kitty."

The girl turned a brilliant shade of red and reached behind her to untuck her skirt. She huffed and turned away as Axel laughed at her.

"Insensitive jerk!" she muttered.

"Attention passengers," a voice came over the intercom. "We've reached the Kalohi docks. Please do not step off until the ferry comes to a complete stop at the dock. Thank you."

Axel wondered vaguely if someone had actually stepped off the ferry before it had docked before and that was why the disclaimer had to be repeated every day. He imagined someone doing so and couldn't help but snerk at the thought.

"Hey, Ax," Demyx said. "Could I snag a ride with you? I forgot to pick up bus fare this morning."

"How'd you get here, then?" Axel asked, pulling his car keys out of his bag.

"Dad dropped me off."

"Fine," Axel said. "You want me to drop you off at your place or what?"

"Actually, I need to stop by the music store and pick up my sitar," Demyx replied. "I had to get one of the strings replaced."

"All right. But first, want to get some coffee?"

"Sure," Demyx grinned. "I could use a double-shot expresso."

"Uh-huh."

The ferry docked and people began getting off in waves. Demyx followed Axel off the ferry, across the street and into the parking garage where Axel's black convertible waited. Axel ran a loving hand over the hood of the car before unlocking it and getting in. He let Demyx into the passenger side and started the engine, turning on the radio and putting the top down as he did so. Putting the car into reverse, Axel backed out of his parking spot and headed out of the parking garage.

Just before he turned out of the garage, a green Volkswagen cut him off. Axel slammed on the brakes and blasted his horn. He looked and recognized the driver.

"Hey, Marluxia!" he shouted. "Watch where you're going!"

"Sorry, Axel!" Marluxia called back. "I didn't see you!"

"Did you get your license out of a cereal box or what!" Axel grinned.

"Actually, it was a box of mac and cheese!"

Demyx snorted from his seat and then burst into laughter. Axel shook his head and let out a chuckle. He backed his car up just a bit, then followed Marluxia out of the garage. Marluxia was a fun guy, even if he did almost hit his car. He was pretty good-looking, too. Too bad he didn't seem to be interested in a relationship at the moment.

Not that Axel was looking for a relationship, either. Unlike Demyx, who didn't seem to care, he was busy trying to get through the summer quarter so he could graduate from Kaigen Academy. Yeah, he had that bad-boy look going for him, but he still did his homework and passed his classes. He wanted to get off the Destiny Islands and visit the mainland, perhaps Aurora; Marluxia had always been ranting about how much he had liked his home town. He didn't have time for a relationship.

Maybe by the end of summer, he'd have time.

_**Author's Note:** Yeah, okay, so I'm one of the original characters in this. I'm just there to cause trouble, not chase after any of the guys. I'm more likely to chase after Olette. Admit it, she's hot. Annwn and Hana are a couple of my friends, but Annwn won't be chasing anyone either and Hana has a boyfriend, so yeah. No Axel/OC, Demyx/OC, Zexion/OC, etc, etc. Remember, I don't mind if you want to submit a name for a character; I could always use more students. _

_I've also created a role-play community based somewhat on this if anyone's interested in joining. There's a link to it in my profile. _


	2. Chapter Two

_**Author's Note:** I have officially opened up the Kaigen Academy role-play over at Greatestjournal. There's a link to the role-play in my profile, should anyone reading this be interested in joining. Original characters are welcome. Anyways, in this chapter, when I mention that Roxas' voice has a cute, husky tone to it, I don't mean Jesse McCartney's. I loathe Jesse McCartney.  
**Warnings:** I introduce another original character. There may be some Kairi-bashing, because I honestly do not like her. I've only found one instance where I did, and that was in **How My Best Friend Screwed Me Over**. Very good fanfic, I highly recommend it. But anyways. If talk of lesbian threesomes, orgies, or whatnot offends you, you shouldn't read this fanfic. Because it comes up a lot.  
**Disclaimer:** This disclaimer has been put on hold until author can come up with some witty way to say that she doesn't own the characters._

Chapter Two

The smell of dinner cooking in the kitchen welcomed Sora, Naminé and Roxas as they entered the house. The three of them kicked off their shoes and slipped on house slippers before they wandered any farther into the house.

"So, how was school?" Sora's mother, Tsukiko, called from the kitchen.

"It was good," Sora replied as he grabbed a brownie from the counter and headed upstairs to change out of his uniform.

"Good?" Tsukiko reiterated, putting one hand on her hip. "That's all?"

"Classes went well," Naminé elaborated for her cousin. "We received some homework, but not much. And there are a few new people running around campus this quarter."

"New students?"

"Well, there are at least four new girls and a couple boys for new students," Naminé explained. "But we've got a couple new teachers, as well. Miss Aeris is the teacher for the new home economics class and I hear there's someone to replace the previous sex ed teacher."

"And you're home late because. . .?" Tsukiko asked.

"You asked us to bring this to you from the main island," Naminé replied, holding up the bag from their earlier excursion to Kalohi.

"Oh, yes, that's right. Thanks for picking it up, dear. I would have gotten it myself, but I had to work."

Naminé nodded and headed upstairs to her room while her aunt went back to preparing dinner. Tsukiko watched out of the corner of her eye as Roxas quietly slipped into the kitchen and walked over to the refrigerator for something to eat. Without a word, he selected a ripe red apple and pulled out a gallon of milk. Tsukiko opened the cabinet next to her and pulled down a clean glass for her nephew.

"How was school, Roxas?" she asked, handing the blond boy the glass.

Roxas shrugged in reply, accepting the glass and pouring the milk into it.

"Did you make any new friends?" Tsukiko urged.

The boy shook his head. He picked up the milk and went to put it back in the refrigerator. Tsukiko gave a small, worried frown. She set down the knife she was using to cut up vegetables and went over to her nephew, who was currently sitting at the kitchen table with his book and his snack. She sat down next to him and put a comforting hand on Roxas' shoulder.

"Roxas," she said softly. "You have to talk to people. You can't go through life never speaking to anyone. I know you're still upset, but you can't stay like this forever."

Roxas nodded absently, as though he wasn't really paying attention to what his aunt was saying. Tsukiko gave a sigh, then hugged the boy.

"You're not the only one suffering because of the accident, Roxas. Remember that. We're all feeling the same way."

Roxas continued to stay silent, but he did look up and give a soft smile. Tsukiko returned the smile, then got up to return to dinner. Roxas finished his apple, drank down the last of his milk, and left the kitchen, heading for his room upstairs. He passed his cousin's room and overhead Sora talking excitedly, presumably to his best friend, Riku. Upon entering his own room, Roxas set his backpack on the floor and sat on his bed, turning on his radio and starting his homework from his English class.

Xaldin had assigned each student to write an Elizabethan sonnet to bring a beginning to their summer unit on poetry. Roxas stared at his notes, trying to wrap his mind around the assignment's specifications: the sonnet had to follow the set rhyme-scheme, it had to follow the theme of "romance," and it had to be the traditional fourteen lines long. He let out a groan. He had never written poetry in his life, much less any romantic poetry!

After giving it a lot of thought, Roxas' pencil came in contact with his paper, words forming in his rather messy handwriting. He had no clue if the words were romantic in any sense of the word; he had no clue what romantic was.

_"Silver light from a pale full moon  
Shining down on this dark metropolis;  
The only light on this night in June,  
In this place, the island's necropolis…"_

"You know, for being a romantic form of poetry, what you've got is kinda creepy."

Roxas looked up to see his sister reading the poem over his shoulder. Naminé looked back down at Roxas' poem. Her brilliant blue eyes went over every word carefully as she tucked a stray strand of her pale blond hair away from her face.

"You've got the rhyme-scheme so far, but this is far from an Elizabethan sonnet," Naminé told him.

"What am I supposed to write?" Roxas asked, quietly.

"Something that isn't dark, angsty, or creepy?"

Roxas shrugged. "You're the one always reading those cheap romance novels; you know romance. You'll probably have yours done tonight."

"It's already done," Naminé said, sitting on the bed next to her brother. "Want me to lend you one of my cheap romance novels to get you started?"

Roxas stuck his tongue out and gagged. "Gross. Those things would give me cooties."

The younger twin gave a small laugh. "At least you still remember how to joke."

"Who's joking?"

Naminé gave her brother a sad smile. "How come you never talk to anyone except me and Sora?"

Roxas paused and looked away from his sister. "I just. . ."

"Roxas, I don't like seeing you like this. I know what happened to Mom and Dad hurt you the most, but do you have to distance yourself from people who might be able to help you smile again?"

"Nami, I'm sorry," Roxas said. "I just. . ."

"You could at least talk to Auntie," Naminé told him. "She's really worried about you. We've been here for a couple months and you've barely said ten words to her."

"You've been counting?"

"I'm serious, Roxas," Naminé said, giving her brother a look.

"Okay, okay," Roxas sighed. "If it's such a big deal, I'll talk to her. But are you sure she won't have a heart attack if I do?"

"Don't be stupid."

"Kids!" Tsukiko called up from the bottom of the stairs. "Dinner's ready!"

The sound of Sora's door banging open followed Tsukiko's call. Naminé and Roxas could hear it as their brunet cousin bounded down the stairs and into the kitchen, making Naminé giggle slightly and Roxas give a small half-chuckle. Naminé stood up and had her brother follow her downstairs.

The smell of the meal filled their nostrils as the twins entered the kitchen. Sora was already seated at the table, waiting impatiently for his cousin's to sit down so he could eat and get back to his room. Tsukiko smiled at Naminé and Roxas, told them to have a seat, and began serving dinner. Naminé looked at her brother as Tsukiko handed him a plate, silently telling him to say something to their aunt.

"T-Thank you," Roxas said, quietly. "It smells great."

Tsukiko gave him a look of surprise, like she could hardly believe he had actually spoken. "Did. . .did you say something?"

Roxas glanced at his sister, then nodded. "I said 'thank you, it smells great.'"

Tsukiko beamed. "Thank you, Roxas."

Sora stared at his cousin. "Wow. I think that's the most you've said to my mom since you were six."

"Don't be mean, Sora," Tsukiko told her son. "It's a big step for him."

"I wasn't being mean," the brunet said with a pout. "I was just saying."

"It's okay," Roxas said. "I haven't really spoken to you since coming here."

"Well, I'm glad you're talking again. It means you're recovering." Tsukiko gave her nephew a hug, then sat down to her own dinner.

**§§§§§**

Xaldin stood before his senior class. He wore black slacks and a black jacket over a dark grey dress-shirt. His long black hair was styled it the usual dread-locks and high ponytail. Dark eyes were narrowed at the lot of his students.

"You are here," he said, "because you either failed my class last semester or because you want an early start on my regular class. Those of you who merely want an early start, good for you. You'll learn something in this course that those of you who failed last semester obviously didn't." He turned to the chalkboard, picked up a piece of chalk, and began writing on the board. "I do not tolerate slackers. If you cannot turn a paper in on time, don't bother to turn it in at all, because it's an automatic failure. Attendance is a major part of your grade. If you are late to class, you lose half of your day's points towards your grade. Likewise, if you are not in class, you lose all points towards your grade."

Turning back to his class, Xaldin pointed the piece of chalk towards the students. "This class is not an easy course. Do _not_ expect to breeze through it. The work will be difficult, the lessons hard, and I will not take it easy on anyone." He glanced around the room again. "Any questions?"

Not one of the students raised their hand.

"Good. Your first assignment is this," Xaldin said, gesturing to the chalkboard behind him. "You will write a Petrarchan sonnet. Traditionally, sonnets are fourteen lines long. The Petrarchan sonnet is no different. It follows an 'a-b-a-b, c-b-c-b, c-b-d-c-b-a' rhyme scheme. A Petrarchan sonnet is _always_ given the theme of 'love.'"

A couple snickers ran through the classroom upon hearing Xaldin utter the word _love_. The black-haired teacher glared at the students, who immediately quieted down. He went over to his desk and picked up a teacher's guide.

"Open your books to page ninety-three," he said. "There are two examples of Petrarchan sonnets written on this page. I want you to read them carefully and study the rhyme-scheme. Afterwards, you may begin writing."

A young brunette in the front row raised her hand politely. Xaldin looked up.

"Yes, Selphie?"

"So long as we follow the main theme of love, we can write about anything, right?" Selphie asked.

"Correct."

Selphie nodded, opened her book, and began reading the two poems specified in the book. The rest of the class was doing the same, excluding a couple students that just didn't seem to care. Axel and a couple of other students that were being held back were already writing, knowing from the last semester what they were supposed to do. The red-head had a bit of trouble, being rather inexperienced with love; he only knew lust. He couldn't recall ever being in love.

The period continued while students were writing their poems. Before they knew it, the bell had rung, releasing them to their next class. Filing out of the classroom with the others, Axel hurried to catch up with Marluxia. The pink-haired boy (what boy in his right mind had pink hair?) smiled at Axel as the red-head put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hello, Axel," Marluxia said. "How's your summer?"

"Dull as ever," Axel replied. "What's your next class?"

"Home economics."

Axel rolled his eyes. "That's such a girl-class, Mar."

"Yeah," Marluxia said. "But it's a good class, nonetheless. You should take it; learn a few things about living on your own. You can't depend on your brother all the time."

Axel gave a short laugh. "I do just fine on my own. Reno's not even home most of the time. He's too busy at work."

"Well, he is a security guard for the Shinra Company, isn't he?" Marluxia asked. "I'd think he'd have a lot on his hands, especially with the new president and all."

"Yeah," Axel said. "He says the new president is a bit of a handful on his own, but with the other problems going on at the company, it's even worse."

"What kind of problems?"

"Well, don't tell anyone, but there's reason to believe that the former president was murdered, but no one's quite sure. Reno and the others are trying to sort things out, but so far they've got nothing."

"Sounds almost like what happened to the former vice president," Marluxia said. "Shinra's wife, right?"

"Yeah," Axel said. "But like I said, don't go telling anyone what's going on. Reno would have my head on a platter."

"Gotcha."

The warning bell rang all of a sudden. Marluxia jumped. "Oh, man. Gotta run, Axel. Talk to you later!"

"Later!" Axel replied, rushing down the hall to his own class.

**§§§§§**

The teacher was late. That was the first thing Roxas noticed upon coming into the Home Ec classroom. His sister had all but forced him to sign up for the class with her, so he was stuck taking it. At least he wasn't the only guy in there; he noticed Cloud and Kadaj, two boys from his English class, sitting in the second row. There were a couple other guys as well. Other than that, all the students were girls.

The second thing he noticed was that the only seat left was in the second to the last row, in front of Kiaran, the girl who had almost gotten herself kicked out of History the day before. Kiaran was sitting next to Naminé and the two of them were talking avidly about Naminé's drawings. On the other side of his sister, Roxas recognized another girl from the senior/junior mix History class.

Taking a seat next to Selphie, a senior, Roxas waited for the final bell to ring. Just as it did so, a very pretty young woman entered the classroom. Brilliant green eyes sparkled under light brown bangs as she gave a smile. She stood before the class, standing next to one of the many ovens in the classroom especially designed for Home Economics.

"Hello, class!" she chirped. Her voice was bubbly and energetic. "I'm Aeris and I welcome you to Home Ec. I'm really sorry I'm late, but I left something in my car this morning and ran to get it." She set the bag she held onto one of the counters and rummaged through it for a moment. "To begin with, this class is going to be a mix of cooking and learning how to run a household. Today's lesson," she paused and smiled, pulling out a basket, "is this!"

She held the basket up and took the small handkerchief that covered it off to reveal a batch of fresh sugar cookies. The class looked at her. Aeris laughed lightly and began to walk around the room, giving a cookie to each student.

"This is a simple recipe and a fun one," she said as she went around. "It'll take less time than this class is, so as soon as you're done with the cookies, I'd like you to read chapter one of your textbook."

Aeris finished handing out the cookies and then went about explaining the ovens as the class munched on their snacks. She showed the class where the sugar, flour, and other ingredients were kept and began to demonstrate how to combine the ingredients to make the cookie dough. Once everyone in the class seemed to know what they were supposed to be doing, Aeris stepped back to observe.

"Zax," one student, Joann, said. "I don't think we need the burners for this."

"I know what I'm doing," Zax, the spiky-haired senior replied.

"Somehow, I doubt that," Yazoo muttered, watching with morbid interest as Zax continued messing with the oven.

"Miss Aeris," Yuffie, the fourth in Joann's group, called. "Tell Zax to get away from the oven before he blows it up!"

"Now, Yuffie, I've known Zax for years and I have yet to see him—"

Aeris was cut off by a shout from Zax as the stove caught fire. She ran over to get the burnable stuff away from the flames as Yazoo went calmly for the fire extinguisher. The silver-haired boy got the flames out before the fire alarm went off. The class settled down as Zax sat down at his seat, not wanting to risk his group's wrath if he catch something on fire again.

Roxas vaguely wondered if it was too late to drop the class.

**§§§§§**

"Well, that was entertaining," Hana said as she left the classroom, following her two friends.

"How can you find a stove catching fire entertaining?" Kairi asked from behind her.

"Fire is pretty," Hana replied.

Kairi raised an eyebrow. Kiaran and Annwn snickered at the small red-head. The girl gave her two elders a glare, which made Kiaran laugh harder.

"What's so funny?" Kairi demanded.

"Nothing!" the girls said in unison.

Hana adjusted her glasses and lifted her shoulder-bag a bit higher to keep it from falling. She gave a sigh. "Anyways," she said. "Annwn, what time is your bartending class?"

"Six-thirty," Annwn replied.

"You're taking bartending classes?" Kairi asked. "Aren't you too young?"

"Legal drinking age is eighteen, darlin'," Annwn said, a sarcastic emphasis on the last word. "I'm plenty old enough to be taking bartending classes."

"You just seem so. . ."

"Say anything about me looking younger than I am and I'll hit you."

"Now, Kairi," Kiaran said. "Hurry along. Unless you're interested in a lesbian orgy with us?"

"Ew! No!" the red-head looked thoroughly disgusted.

"Good. You're not that hot, anyways."

Kairi stood there, a look of disgust and indignity on her face. She shook her head and pivoted on her heels to head off to practice for the cheerleading squad. Zax bounded up behind the three girls.

"Did I hear something about a lesbian orgy?"

"No, you can't watch," Annwn deadpanned.

Zax hung his head in disappointment. Then he perked up as he glimpsed a certain spiky-haired blond just ahead. He waved good-bye to Annwn, Kiaran, and Hana as he bounded down the hall to glomp onto Cloud with a wide grin on his face.

"Ow!" Cloud exclaimed as Zax's weight threw him to the floor.

"Hey, there, Spike!" Zax said. "Wanna go to the Blue Rhapsody this weekend? Huh?Huh?"

"Get off me!"

The three girls laughed as they heard Zax and Cloud's "conversation" from down the hall.

**§§§§§**

A couple days passed and Thursday rolled around. Once again, Axel was sitting between Tidus and Yuffie, listening to Xaldin rant about Petrarchan sonnets. However, this time, Xaldin was ranting about looking forward to hearing what the students had written. He called up students one by one to stand up front and read their poem; a few students were right on with the rhyme-scheme, but the sonnet itself sucked, while other students had the theme right but had actually written an Elizabethan sonnet and not a Petrarchan.

"Thank you, Selphie," Xaldin said after Selphie finished reading a sappy, but rather nice sonnet about star-crossed lovers. "Kiaran, you're next."

"You really don't want me to read my poem out loud," the blue-haired girl said.

"All students are required to read their poem to the class, Miss Kiaran," Xaldin told her. "You have a choice. Either get up here and read the poem or fail the assignment."

Kiaran sighed, but stood up and walked to the front of the classroom. She fidgeted with the pocket of the blue-plaid slacks she wore (apparently, she refused to wear the skirts), and then cleared her throat as she held up her paper.

"_Your touch from this night, it still lingers…  
A steady rhythm, always repeating,  
Your hearts beats in your chest, beneath my fingers…  
But it feels like my own heart has stopped beating._

_I feel like crying out as your touch lights me aflame  
Even now, as my mind keeps on pleading…  
And yet I know, that I'm the only one to blame  
For I am the one who can't bear this needing…_

_To you, my sadistic lover, this is a mere game  
This pain, this pleasure…my soul is bleeding  
I don't know just how much of this I can take  
For me, this feeling is one of beloved shame  
I know, my love, that your actions are misleading  
But…even now…it's me whom I'm allowing you to break."_

The class looked at Kiaran, eyes wide in shock. Xaldin turned his ice-cold gaze on her and the girl cringed under his gaze.

"Miss Kiaran, that is not appropriate for school."

"Hey, the requirements never said anything about being school-appropriate!" Kiaran said in her defense. "You just said that so long as it follows the main theme of love, we could write about anything!"

"That does not follow the theme of love."

"Sure, it does! Sex is about love!" Kiaran paused. "In most cases."

"Besides," Hana said from her seat. "She wrote it after what we did last nigh--" She caught herself mid-word and covered her mouth. "Oops."

The entire class turned to stare at Hana. Xaldin looked at Kiaran and held out his hand to take her paper.

"See me after class," was all he had to say.

Kiaran nodded solemnly before heading back to her seat. Xaldin called up more students to read their poems, listening intently. He marked down grades as the students finished reading. After the last student read their poem, Xaldin had them take out their textbooks and move onto the next chapter on poems.

The bell finally rang so they could leave and Axel hurried out. As he did, there was an announcement on the PA. The principal, Xemnas, cleared his throat and began the announcement.

"Attention, students," Xemnas' deep voice came over the speakers. "There has been an incident in the bathrooms and we are asked to allow everyone to leave the campus while they are worked on."

_Well, that's interesting,_ Axel thought._ Whatever, I'm going to the club._

Throwing his backpack over one shoulder, the red-head left campus and headed for the bus that was already waiting to take students down to the docks to catch the ferry to Kalohi. Apparently, Xemnas had been waiting to make the announcement to leave campus until the bus had arrived. Boarding, Axel noticed Demyx already seated in the last seat, nodding his head to the music playing on his iPod.

"Going to the Blue Rhapsody tonight?" Axel asked, pulling one of the earphones away as he sat down next to his friend.

"Yeah," Demyx replied, pouting slightly at Axel. "Gotta talk to Theo and make sure everything will be okay for tomorrow night."

"Right," Axel murmured. He placed the earphone into his own ear and leaned on Demyx's shoulder as he listened to the music that was playing. "Green Day. I like their old stuff better."

"This isn't a bad song, though."

"Mm," Axel replied. "Your shoulder's comfy."

**§§§§§**

"Why can't we just get groceries from the shop at home?" Roxas whined as he carried the bags out of the store.

"You know they don't have a good pharmacy over there," Naminé said. "We had to come here to get Sora's medication, so we might as well get the groceries over here as well."

"How come Sora couldn't come get his own Ritalin?"

"Because he's grounded, remember?" Naminé sighed. "Now, come on. It looks like it's going to start raining."

Just as she said it, raindrops began falling from the gray skies. It began as a soft sprinkle, but before long, it turned into a full-on downpour. Naminé groaned as the rain soaked her shirt. Shifting the groceries to hide her shirt, Naminé began hurrying down the street.

"We're going to get completely soaked," Roxas muttered, running beside his sister.

Naminé didn't answer as she kept going down the street. A honk sounded behind her. She and Roxas stopped and turned to the street to see a black convertible pulling up beside them. Through the heavy rain, they saw the window roll down and the familiar face of a red-haired classmate greeted them.

"Need a ride?" Axel called over the downpour.

"Please," Naminé replied.

"Backseat," Axel said as the twins rushed over. "I got Demyx in the front."

"Thank you very much," Naminé said. She climbed in and set her bags on the floorboard in front of her.

"T-thanks," Roxas told Axel, shivering slightly as he buckled up.

"Hey, Naminé," Axel said. "My school jacket's under the seat. You can cover yourself up with it."

Naminé reached under the seat and pulled the navy blue jacket out. She pulled it on with another thanks. Axel nodded in acknowledgement and let off the brake to head down the street.

"Where do I need to take you?" he asked.

"The docks," Roxas said. "We need to get back to Lanai."

"Wow," Axel said. "I think that's the most I've ever heard you say."

Roxas turned a brilliant red color. "I-I don't really like to talk."

"I see," the red-head replied. "Well, okay. We'll get you over to the docks. I don't think the storm's bad enough that the ferry would be cancelled, so lucky you."

Axel drove down to the docks and parked. He gave Roxas and Naminé a smile as they got out, grabbing their backpacks and groceries as they did so. Roxas headed over to the ferry after saying another quick thank you to Axel for the ride. Naminé turned to follow her brother, but stopped in her tracks and turned around.

"Your jacket," she said.

"Take it with you," Axel told her. "Your brother may be fine with a soaking wet shirt, but you, you've got certain aspects he doesn't, that will attract unwanted attention if you're not covered up."

Naminé blushed vividly. "T-thank you again. I'll return it to you on Monday, okay?"

"Gotcha," Axel smiled. "See you Monday, then!"

The blonde gave a kind wave goodbye and ran after her brother. Axel put his car back in drive and headed back into town.

"Interesting kids, those two are," he muttered.

"I still think you're crushing on the brother," Demyx grinned.

"I am not," Axel retorted. "Why would I be crushing on a skinny little shrimp like him?"

"It's his big blue eyes."

"If I was attracted to big blue eyes, I still wouldn't be crushing on Roxas," Axel said. "There are tons of guys with blue eyes I could pick to date."

"Right," Demyx said.

"Besides, would I have gone for you if I was attracted to blue eyes? Your eyes are more green than blue."

"You went for me because I was sexy and good in bed."

"Exactly," Axel muttered.

A few minutes passed in relative silence. Demyx played with the buttons on Axel's stereo, trying to find a good station to listen to as they drove through the city. He found something to listen to and leaned into his seat.

"Axel, you just passed my apartment."

"Oops."

Axel hit the brake and turned around in the street, thankful that there was no one else on this particular street. He turned into the parking lot and came to a stop in front of the apartment Demyx shared with his father. He turned the radio down and looked at his friend.

"So, I'll see you tomorrow at the Blue Rhapsody, then?"

"Eight o'clock," Demyx reminded him.

"Right."

"I'll look for you."

"Yeah, yeah. Get out of my car."

Demyx gave a grin, hopped out, and headed into the building. Axel shifted gears and headed for his own apartment complex.

**§§§§§**

Later that night, Axel lay in bed thinking about what Demyx had said earlier about having a crush on Roxas. Immediately, the red-head concluded that his friend was wrong. Axel did not crush. He lusted, messed around, and fooled around. There was no 'crush' involved with any relationships he had. Even when he was young and had found himself attracted to Yuffie, it hadn't really been a crush; more like a passing thought.

Maybe it was a bit different now. Sure, Roxas was a skinny little shrimp, but seeing the younger boy's spiky blond hair sopping wet, water dripping down his neck and down his already soaked shirt had been a bit of a—

"No!" Axel exclaimed, sitting up in bed. "I don't like Roxas."

A bang on the wall attracted his attention.

"Shut up in there, yo!" his brother, Reno, shouted. "I gotta get up early tomorrow!"

"Sor-ry!" Axel replied, irritably.

Lying back down on his bed, Axel ran a hand through his unruly red hair. He gave a sigh, turned onto his side and laid his head on his arm. He pulled his blankets up over his body.

"I don't like him," he muttered as he closed his eyes.

The image under his eyelids seemed to be trying to tell him otherwise. Roxas' shirt was translucent from it being wet, skin showing through the fabric. The boy's chest was heaving as he tried to catch his breath after running through the rain. Axel snapped his eyes open again as he swore loudly.

"SHUT UP!" Reno shouted through the wall.

"Okay, OKAY!" Axel shouted back.

It would be a while until Axel fell asleep. With his mind displaying that image of Roxas whenever he closed his eyes, the red-head was finding it hard to keep his eyes closed long enough to actually get to sleep. He told himself it was just his hormones trying to get the better of him again and that he was definitely not 'crushing' on the small blond boy.

After all, he did not get crushes on anyone.

_**Author's Note: **Yeah, I know I kinda jumped around a bit, but there was a lot I wanted to put in. I'll try not to do that as much from now on. The rest of the story will flow a lot better than this chapter did. My only question to you, my readers, is this: should I make Reno show up more and should I pair him up with Rufus? Okay, that was two questions, but still. Let it slide?_

_In case you're wondering, yes Elizabethan and Petrarchan sonnets are true forms of poetry. I remember studying them in my senior class. Quite frankly, I'm amazed I kept all my notes and poems. The one that Kiaran reads out loud is actually one of the poems I turned in for credit. Somehow, I don't think the teacher actually read it or I would have been sent in for counseling. _


End file.
